Roommate Tips

Contents

Roommate Tips

Sharing a room with another student will be a new experience that you will encounter when you live on-campus. Not only will you be sharing the same space, you will also be sharing in each other’s lives while you are roommates.

You and your roommate will have had many different experiences growing up – from your families and friends to your education to the values, beliefs, opinions and habits you have formed. Not every resident will become best friends with his or her roommate(s), but it is important that roommates are able to understand the other’s point of view and be able to live together.

The most important thing for roommates to do is talk early and often about your likes, pet peeves, and other things you might be sensitive to in order to create an environment that is agreeable for you both. Behaviors that don’t bother us, may bother someone else and it is important that we are cognizant of that. We don’t want you to change who you are, but we do want you to be considerate of others. You may also want to talk about your goals, what motivates you and the lifestyle that suits you best. While this may be challenging in the beginning of your roommate relationship, the sooner you start talking, the easier it will be to develop a sense of cooperation, communication, and trust. Your RA will be available to help you set boundaries and guidelines during these conversations if it would make you more comfortable.

By talking with your roommate once you receive your housing assignment, you can discuss who will be bringing what items for your room so that you don’t end up with multiple televisions, stereos, refrigerators, microwaves, etc. The space in your room is limited, so making the best use of your space is a wise idea. We strongly recommend that students contact one another first rather than immediately looking at Facebook or MySpace; pictures and statements can be misleading and deceiving. To help avoid any misconceptions, please talk to your roommate(s) person to person.

Roommates: Getting to Know One AnotherThere are some items below that may help you start some lifestyle conversations with your roommate(s). This is just a starting point. The best relationships are based on openness and honesty. So keep the lines of communication open and consider your roommate's rights and feelings before you say or do anything that may affect him or her.•My Full Name•Where I grew up•How many brothers and sisters I have•What I'm majoring in•Why I came to The College of Saint Rose•How I feel about living away from home•What friends I have at Saint Rose•How I feel about cleanliness and neatness in the room•Personal possessions I don't mind sharing with you while we're roommates•Personal possessions I prefer that you ask me about before using•What time I typically get up in the morning and go to sleep at night•How I feel about having same sex/opposite sex visitors in our room•How I feel about having overnight guests in our room•What my study habits probably will be like this semester•Some habits of mine that you should know about•How I feel about drinking and drugs•How I feel about having parties in our room•Some of my pet peeves•Times when I prefer to be left alone•The type of music I like and the volume at which I like it•Things I'd like for us to do together (e.g., clean the room, buy snacks, eat in the dining hall)•The most important thing I've learned from this exchange•Things I think we need to talk about more

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